PETER J ARMSTRONG
Genealogical Research in the London Archives
Introduction |
GRO Certificates |
1841-1901 Census Returns |
1901 Online Census |
Wills: 1858-Date
PCC Wills: Pre-1858 |
Parish Registers |
General Research |
Order & Payment |
Links
Peter Armstrong has operated a genealogical research service in the London Archives since 1991. He regularly visits the major national and local repositories in London; including the Family Records Centre; the London Metropolitan Archives; First Avenue House (for Wills - formerly held at Somerset House); the Guildhall Library; the Westminster Archives Centre and the Society of Genealogists. Visits to Local Studies Libraries and other repositories can be arranged.
Copies of Birth, Marriage and Death Certificates, Census Returns and PCC Wills can be obtained for you from the Family Records Centre. Post 1858 Wills can be obtained from First Avenue House. Copies of Parish Register entries covering Metropolitan London can be obtained from the various archives.
Details of my standard fees are listed below. If you have any queries please E-mail or contact me at the address given here.
GRO Certificates
1837-2005
Up to a 5 year search £9.50
Up to a 10 year search £12.00
(£7.00 credit if no certificate ordered)
GRO Birth, Marriage & Death Certificates are supplied for England & Wales only, and are available from the commencement of Civil Registration which was 1st July 1837.
The full GRO reference is the complete index details including: Surname, forename(s), Registration District, Year, Quarter, Volume & Page. Deaths should also include the age if given in the index. Births should also include the maiden name of the mother if given in the index.
In England & Wales the Birth, Marriage and Death registers are NOT open to public inspection. The public may only search the GRO or local register offices Birth, Marriage and Death indexes.
Longer searches undertaken by arrangement - please enquire for a quote.
1841-1901
Census Returns
With full PRO ref (Piece/Folio) £2.00
House number and street £3.50
Street/small village search £5.00
Larger area searches - please enquire
Census returns are supplied for England & Wales only. For 1901 online census searches please see below.
A small village search includes any hamlet or village with a population of up to 3,000. Anything larger please enquire for a quote. Please supply full names of individual(s) or family sought together with other relevant information when requesting searches.
The full PRO reference should include both the Piece and Folio numbers, and (if known) the Page number. (e.g. RG11 1124 folio 127 p13) Requests for copies from the 1841 census should include the BOOK number as well as the above information. (e.g. HO107 321 Book 6 folio 20 p10)
The above fees are for the search of ONE address or village and ONE census year. If you want the same address or village searched for more than one census year, then a further fee is payable for EACH additional census year searched.
The fee includes ONE copy normally A3 size. (A4 copies can be supplied if requested). Additional copies are 50p each if requested at the time of ordering.
Back to top
1901
Online Census
If you do not have sufficient information (i.e. either a Street
address or the name of a village) where your ancestor lived in 1901, it may be
better to request an online search of the census. The basic search fee for this service is £5.00 which includes up
to TWO image access & copy charges. Any additional images accessed
and/or copied as part of the same search will cost a further £1.00
EACH. More complex search requirements will be charged at
£8.00 per hour + an image access/copy fee of £1.00 for EACH image of the census which is viewed and/or
copied. A request for a search of the 1901 census must be accompanied by as much information as
possible about the individual or family being sought. This should
include (where available) :- This information is required because the 1901 census has been fully
indexed and is being made available in a digital format and will be searchable
online on the Internet. However, there are access charges involved and more information will
help with tracking down the family or individual in a more efficient
and cost effective manner. If you have any doubt about whether you have sufficient information
for a realistic search please
enquire first
of all.
Census returns are supplied for England & Wales only.
~~ the full forenames & surnames (if
the name is unusual then other known variants/spellings may help)
~~ the age or year of birth
~~ the place of birth
~~ the
occupation
~~ the likely village, town or city where they will be
living
~~ details of all known family members
Wills:
1858-Date
20 year search & copy £9.00
(£5.00 credit if no Will or Administration ordered)
Wills and Letters of Administration are supplied for England & Wales only.
Please supply the full name of the deceased, the last known address and the date of death (if known) or the period you want searched.
The fee includes the Will and Grant of Probate, or the Letters of Administration if the deceased died intestate. It does NOT include any further Grants made on the same Will. An additional fee is payable if these are required.
PCC Wills:
Pre-1858
(includes copy up to 4 pages)
Prerogative Court of Canterbury (PCC) records only are searched for the period before 1858. It is advisable to check the records of Wills proved in lower ecclesiastical courts which are usually held in the appropriate County Record Office.
Please supply the full name of the deceased, the last known address or area and the date of death (if known) or the period you want searched.
The fee includes a copy of the Will up to 4 pages in length. Pages in excess of this are charged at 50p per page.
Parish Registers (London and Middlesex)
Photocopies of Parish Register entries held at the London Metropolitan Archives, the Guildhall Library & the Westminster Archives can be supplied. Please state Name, exact date, parish and whether a Baptism, Marriage or Burial is required.
Copies of parish register entries held at the London Metropolitan Archives cost £2.50
Copies of City of London parish register entries held at the Guildhall Library cost £3.00
Copies of City of Westminster parish register entries held at the Westminster Archives cost £3.50
If the register has not been filmed, then a transcript of the entry will be provided where it is practical to do so. If you are unsure which archive holds the parish register copy you require please enquire.
If you require a search of the London Parish Registers to find a baptism, marriage or burial, please see the General Research section below.
General Research
Extended searches of the GRO indexes can be undertaken, including the
extraction of index details for One-Name Studies. Wider area
searches of the Census can be undertaken on request.
Research can also be undertaken at other London repositories including
the
London Metropolitan Archives, the
Guildhall Library, the
City of Westminster Archives, the
Society of Genealogists & Local Studies Libraries. Please
enquire for a
quote.
General research is subject to an hourly charge of £8.00 (minimum fee
applies). Any document copies are charged at cost.
Order & Payment
Please send full details, SAE and fees with all orders. Cheques or Postal
Orders should be made payable to P J ARMSTRONG
and sent to the address below. Payment can also be made with your Credit or Debit Card using the
PayPal service. This is a secure site which processes the card
transaction - I do not see your card details. When the transaction has
been completed I receive a notification of the amount paid. The
research you requested is then put in hand. Please note
50p will be added to the total to cover the provision of an S.A.E. to
despatch your documents. An additional 5% is then added to this total
to cover the Paypal transaction charge. If you wish to pay using this service
please send me an
email with
details of the research or documents you want to order. You will then
be sent a PayPal invoice for the total amount which will have a link to
take you to the Paypal site to make the payment.
Overseas clients:
Please add £2.00 per order for Airmail return. Payment should be made
in Pounds Sterling by cheque or an International Money Order or Bank Draft
drawn on a bank with a U.K. clearing address. Alternatively you can use
the PayPal service (see above) to pay by Credit or Debit Card.
For your convenience a Currency Converter link is provided here:
XE.com Currency Converter
27 Petergate
Battersea
LONDON SW11 2UE
England
Tel: 020 8870 2522
E-mail:
| Family Search | The LDS Family Search Web Site |
| The National Archives | The National Archives for England (formerly The Public Record Office) |
| GENUKI | UK+Ireland Genealogy - large collection of genealogy-related pages and links. |
| Society of Genealogists | Home Page for the Society, whose library holds a vast collection of material, including the UK's largest collection of parish register transcripts. |
| Guild of One-Name Studies | Home Page for the Guild of One-Name Studies.The online Register of Names being researched can be checked on the site. |
| London Metropolitan Archives | The repository for the archives of the London Metropolitan area. The place for documents, books, maps, prints and photographs about London and Londoners. |
| Guildhall Library | The archive repository for the City of London which also houses a very large reference library and printed book collection. |
| Westminster Archives | The archive for the records of the City of Westminster. |
| Free BMD | The GRO birth, marriage and death indexes online - about 87 million entries at present - but growing all the time! |
| What's in a name? | Some very unusual names taken from the GRO birth, marriage and death indexes. |
| History of the Workhouse | If you are at all interested in where some of your ancestors may have spent part of their lives when poverty struck, you really should visit this site! It is a most fascinating and detailed look at all aspects of the Workhouse and its history. |
| The Archive CD Books Project | The Archive CD Books Project exists to make reproductions of old books, documents and maps available on CD to genealogists and historians, and to co-operate with libraries, museums and record offices in providing money to renovate old books in their collection. What's more their CD's are very reasonably priced indeed! |
| Alan Godfrey Maps | Old Ordnance Survey Maps - These maps are invaluable for historians and genealogists. More than 1,400 titles have been issued in this major series of reprints of Old Ordnance Survey Maps of towns throughout Britain and Ireland. They are very reasonably priced too! |
| Underground History | Disused Stations on London's Underground - Absolutely nothing to do with genealogy! However, this is a really fascinating look at these abandoned stations and the uses to which some of them have been put over the years. With lots of photos and facts, this site is guaranteed to sidetrack you for at least a couple of hours! |
Back to top